Snuffles
by aForgottenWeasley
Summary: Draco and Blaise stumble upon a wounded animal who they take home and heal up. What happens when Hermione's animagus cover is blown? And why is Draco desperate to get in touch with her?
1. Chapter 1

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Well, there's always a first time for everything! I've had this idea brewing in my head for a while and I'm really sorry for the shame I might bring into this fandom.**

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><p>Draco Malfoy and Blaise Zabini were the best of friends. Although if you said that term in front of them, they'd deny it immediately. <em>Best friends <em>sounded too feminine for the guys who were once considered sex-god royalty during their stay at Hogwarts, but that's exactly what they were.

Lady Malfoy and Lady Zabini raised their boys together and hoped that one day they'd be as powerful as their fathers. They were, if not stronger. Draco followed in his father's footsteps and became a Deatheater, while Blaise resisted the Dark side and stayed neutral. Draco applauded his friend's bravery and sometimes wished that he could have stayed neutral and didn't have to bear the Dark mark on his forearm.

During their seventh year at Hogwarts, when the war broke out, Draco had a change of heart. His loyalties no longer lied with the Dark side, but they didn't exactly lie with the Light side either. All he wanted most was for his family to break away safe and his best friend to get away. When Deatheaters attacked the school and Draco heard rumors of the Slytherins being locked in the dungeons, his first instinct was to save Blaise.

So that's what he did.

Instead of attacking fellow students who were guarding the school, he apparated to the dungeons and pulled Blaise to safety. He later stayed behind to make sure that his mother and father left The Dark Lord's side and got away as well. Although his parents had gotten away for a while, they were soon found and charged for their crimes when they had served the Dark Lord. Lucius got his very own cell in Azkaban for life since he was part of the Inner Circle and Narcissa only got a few months with the help of Harry Potter. Draco had made a clean escape from the Wizengamot with testimonies from both Blaise and Harry. Since Draco never went through with his task of killing Dumbledore and his wise choice of not giving up Harry in Malfoy Manor, they had come to the conclusion that he was innocent.

After narrowly escaping a sentence to Azkaban, he vowed to turn his life around. He and Blaise took out a good sum of money from their families bank accounts and put themselves through college. They didn't know what they wanted to focus their career on, but they did know that whatever they did, they wanted to open up their own business together. After a couple months of goofing off, they had managed to rule out anything dealing with _Magical Law _and _Teaching Positions. _They put their heads together and found out that they had a similar interest in _Care of Magical Creatures. _Blaise, having known some stuff about the Muggle world, had read that Muggles opened up offices that took care of animals.

That's what they were going to do.

After taking all the mandatory classes they needed, they were going to open up an office that would tend to Magical Creatures in Diagon Alley.

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Seven years later; wherever you found Blaise, you found Draco. Having opened up their business after college, it took them a couple of months to become recognized amongst their fellow witches and wizards. Much to their surprise, one of their frequent clients was Hagrid. After getting over his initial shock, Hagrid enjoyed the fact that both the Wizards matured so much and put the past behind him.

Fang was as healthy as ever.

**. . .**

**. . .**

Winter was in full swing and the ground was freshly covered in two feet of snow. Night had quickly fell upon Hogsmeade Village and caught all the unsuspecting Witches or Wizards in it's cold wrath. People wrapped their cloaks tighter around their bodies and forced their way into any open business in hopes of escaping the chilly air.

Walking into the Three Broomsticks, you would be able to find Blaise Zabini and Draco Malfoy sitting at the bar- butterbeers in hand.

"Rosmerta!" Blaise waved his hand in mid-air and beckoned over the always beautiful bar maiden. "Can we please have two more butterbeers and two shots of firewhiskey for my best mate?"

Rosmerta looked up from cleaning the glass in her hand and smiled at her frequent customers; nodding her head. She served the boys their drinks, placed them in front of them, and went back to cleaning dirty glasses.

Draco picked up one of the butterbeers but before he could fully bring the glass up to his lips, Blaise slapped it away from his face. "_OI!_ The butterbeers are mine. You need to down some firewhiskey and forget all about tonight's disaster of a blind date."

"It wasn't that much of a disaster." Draco defended himself before he put down the butterbeer; picking up a shot and downing it in one quick gulp. "Besides, I was the one who said that if she didn't shut her mouth for five seconds that I was going to hex her into oblivion."

"Is that why she slapped you!" Blaise chuckled.

"Yeah." Draco answered with a small smile on his face. "And that's why she _accidentally_ tripped over her own two feet as she walked out of here. Gotta love that tripping jinx."

"You truly are an arse." Blaise grinned as he finished off his butterbeer.

The two friends finished off their drinks in a comfortable silence and then gathered up their cloaks; heading out into the night.

The icy cold wind had finally stopped blowing but still not a single soul inhabited the streets. Draco and Blaise were walking through the alley behind a pub when they heard a whimpering noise. Coming to a sudden stop, the whimpering sound continued from the end of the alley ahead of them and then completely stopped.

Curiously glancing at one another, both men pulled out their wands and muttered _"lumos", _lighting up the tips of their wand so they could see in the dark. Blaise kept his wand low to the ground while Draco held his up in the air so they could see what was in front of them. Blaise noticed a couple of blood splotches in the snow and pointed them out to Draco as they kept walking forward.

Finally at the end of the alley, they came across a wounded animal laying in the snow. Their instinct for taking care of animals kicked in and both men dropped to the knees next to it. They could tell that it was still breathing, but it seemed to be in an immense amount of pain since it was passed out. Coming to the conclusion that it was late, extremely cold, and they had alcohol in their system- their best best bet was to apparate to their flat and work from there. They didn't want to chance messing up their place of business if things got out of hand and they needed to call in for some help. People finding out that they were slightly drunk and working wasn't good for their reputation.

Passing his wand to Blaise, Draco ripped off his cloak and wrapped up the wounded animal before apparating home. He landed in the living room and the _crack! _behind him let him know that Blaise was there. Quickly transfiguring their coffee table into a high counter top, Blaise picked up the thick blanket from the sofa and laid it on top. Draco placed the animal down and unwrapped it, getting ready to check it for wounds.

Once Draco and Blaise got a good look at what they were saving, they both took a cautious step back even though it was unconscious. What they both thought was a dog wasn't a dog at all, but a wolf.

A reddish-brown wolf with a silver cuff around it's right front leg.

"Y-you check it!" Blaise muttered as he nudged Draco forward.

He rolled his eyes and stepped closer, plastering on the famous Malfoy smirk. "Really, Blaise? We deal with Hagrid's creatures daily and you're scared of tiny unconscious wolf?"

"Yeah, well," Blaise tried defending himself; thinking up an excuse. "If that thing wakes up, it's gonna wake up in a very bad mood. You'll be the first it attacks."

Draco scoffed at the lame excuse and held his hand out for his wand that Blaise was still holding. After taking possession of his wand again, he turned around and waved it over the wolf while muttering a few incantations. As he was muttering his incantations, Blaise stepped forward and was lifting up it's back legs and then examining the silver cuff on it's leg. A purple light glowed around the wolf's rib area, a white light glowed all along it's spine, and red spots glowed here and there all around it's body.

"Damn." Draco muttered. "It has a couple broken ribs and a bruised back. There are also some gashes all around it's body. I guess that explains where the blood came from."

"Looks like _she _was abused back there." Blaise concluded. At Draco's curious stare, Blaise explained further. "I took a peek at it's bits when you were checking the injuries. It's definitely a _she._"

"Oh." Draco sighed. "Well, I guess we should wake her up to make sure she's fine and heal her cuts. Then we can put her back to sleep and mend the broken ribs so she's not in much pain."

"Alright." Blaise stepped away from the living room and walked into the kitchen where they kept emergency potions. Instead of wasting time searching for the right potion, he _accio'd _a sleep draught straight into his palm and went back to the living room.

"You ready for this?" Draco asked as he heard the footsteps behind him.

"Yeah."

"You might want to step back in case she attacks." Draco chuckled.

"Just shut up and wake her up so we can get this over with and then get some sleep ourselves."

Draco chuckled one last time before pointing his wand at the wolf. _"Rennervate."_

The wolf woke with a start and immediately started whimpering in pain. She tried to lift herself off the counter top, but Draco gently pushed her back down. Sensing that she still might be in danger, the wolf snapped it's jaw at Draco's hand and started to growl.

"Easy, easy." Draco tried talking in a calm voice. He peered over his shoulder and caught sight of an amused looking Blaise. "A little help here, please!"

Upon hearing the voices, the wolf lifted it's head and stared at both Draco and Blaise. The growling suddenly ceased and it laid back down. The whimpering came back.

"Well if that isn't a sign that she trust us; I don't know what is." Blaise mumbled. "Come on, how are we going to heal this one?"

Draco moved closer once again and started to examine all the cuts. "Well, we need to clean off all this blood and clean out the cuts." He mumbled. After casting a quick _scourgify, _the blood disappeared and the cuts cleaned out. "We can heal the cuts with a simply spell, but I don't want to take chances with the ribs. A mending potion will slowly mend the ribs and the bruising will go away on it's own."

"Alright. Let me go get the bone mending potion. I forgot to grab that one." Blaise left the living room once again.

Draco moved to the front of the wolf so he would be in her line of vision. He gently ran his hand over her head and between her ears. When she didn't snap at him again, he smiled. "You're a tame one, aren't ya?" When the wolf kept on whimpering, he continued his examination. His eyes caught sight of the cuff and decided to see what it was. As he turned the cuff around it's leg, he noticed a name was engraved into it. "Snuffles?" He mumbled to himself. "What kind of person would name their pet _Snuffles?_" The wolf snorted as if Draco offended her and he smirked. "Sorry."

"So how are we going to do this? I hold her down and you spill the potions down her throat?" Blaise asked as he reappeared yet again.

"No. I have a feeling that if we tell her what's going on, she'll cooperate with us." At Blaise' look of disbelief; he continued. "I don't think this is an ordinary wolf. She seems pretty smart."

Blaise shrugged. "If you say so. But you're pouring them down her throat."

"Okay. This is what we're going to do." Draco stared the wolf in the eye. "My friend, here, is going to heal your cuts with a quick spell. We're going to feed you a bone mending potion for your ribs and then put you directly to sleep afterward so you don't have to feel the pain." Draco explained. "I'm gonna have to open up your jaw with my hands to pour the potion down your throat. Please don't bite me."

The wolf relaxed on the table and Blaise got to work. He pointed his wand at the wolf, muttering a spell and watched the wounds disappear.

Draco slowly started to open the wolf's jaw open and poured the sky-blue potion down it's throat. He saw the wolf swallow and then immediately picked up the sleeping potion, pouring it down her throat as well.

The sleeping potion took immediate effect and the wolf fell asleep right before their eyes.

"Well, it's Friday night and we have the weekend off. What are we going to do with the wolf?" Blaise yawned.

"We take care of Snuffles." Draco answered. "Then when she's better, we find her owner."

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><p><strong>Well, I was going to make this a long [ONE-SHOT], but I decided to cut it up into separate chapters. Tell me: <em>Is this worth continuing?<em> Please be honest. If you're interested in finding out what happens next, let me know in a review :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: For being my first time writing in the Harry Potter fandom, 8 reviews is pretty good :) Thank you: ****xXxIamProbablyJustPlottingxXx, Just Your Above Average Malfoy, NazChick, Supermegafoxyawsomehot, virgooster, Tanya, mimichamp, and Phoenix-or-the-fire.** **I'm glad you thought the first chapter was interesting and I hope you enjoy this one as well.**

**To answer the question by virgooster: I chose a wolf for Hermione because, well, wolves are beautiful. They can be smart, they're fast and when needed; they're vicious :) The rest of my answer is in this chapter. Enjoy!**

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><p>Hermione woke with a start. She couldn't recognize the room she was in, but she knew was not out in the cold where she last remembered she was. She felt slightly groggy and sore all over. One of the last things she remembered was walking by the The Three Broomsticks and being attacked.<p>

Walking by The Three Broomsticks while being attacked in her animagus form.

She quickly tried to push herself upward to get a better look at her current location, but moving quickly made her dizzy and she collapsed back on her _bed. _She had finally realized that she wasn't in a bed at all, but laying on a bunch of cushions that were thrown in the corner of a living room. Gathering up as much strength as she could, she stood up on all fours and limped around the living room trying to find a way out. She was grateful for being brought out of the cold, but she didn't want anyone to make a fuss over her.

Limping over to the front door, she stared up at the handle and longed for freedom out of the house. She concentrated on transforming back into her human state, but she couldn't do it. When she opened her eyes, she was still a wounded wolf. Concentrating once again, she willed her body to change but nothing happened. Guessing that she was too injured to transform, she limped back to her home-made bed and waited for someone to wake up.

To Hermione, it seemed like she waited an eternity before she heard footsteps coming down the steps. Her ears pricked and she turned her attention to where the foot of the steps lay. If Hermione had been in her human form, the scream that sounded in her wolf mind would have startled the two men that were now walking in her direction. She quickly rose, sitting on her bum and scooted backwards into the corner trying to put as much space between them.

"Well, she seems to be better." Blaise eyed her; smiling. "I figured she would've attacked us or something when we found her awake."

"_I am a wolf." _Hermione thought to herself. _"Might as well act like one."_ She positioned herself on all fours, bared her teeth, and started growling at both Blaise and Draco. Both men quickly stopped in their tracks and quickly pulled out their wands; aiming them at her.

"Now, now." Draco started. "You were nice enough to us last night when we were healing you. What changed over night?"

The growling immediately stopped, but she kept her teeth bared in a menacing way. She forced her mind to brush through every memory she had of the previous night, but only came up with glimpses.

..._transforming into Snuffles..._

_...being asked by Harry to patrol Hogsmeade village..._

_...a leg swinging back and kicking her in the ribs..._

...and finally _Draco mumbling something about mending her ribs..._

They helped her.

She stopped being aggressive towards them and relaxed a bit; glancing back and forth between both men. "See. I told you she was smarter than your average wolf." Draco pocketed his wand and moved towards the sofa; settling down.

Blaise stayed in position; eying her suspiciously before following Draco's lead and sitting down. "Yeah. She does seem smart." He muttered.

Hermione snorted which was a bad thing to do because that only gained her more attention from the two men. Draco eyed her a bit before beckoning her forward. "Come here, Snuffles. Come on." Hermione, of course, ignored Draco's calling and stood her ground in the corner.

"Aw. Come on, Snuffles. We just want to check your healing progress over here. Come on." Blaise pleaded with her. Remembering their past when they had sometimes crossed paths, Hermione knew that they were now harmless but she still felt weird around them. If she had to choose between the two, she'd choose Blaise. She slowly crept forward until she was standing in front of him and sat down. "Looks like I'm her favorite." He grinned.

Draco scoffed. "Yeah, well if she knew that you were peeking at her womanly wolf bits, I bet she wouldn't."

If Hermione could blush in wolf form, she would be blushing right now. She glanced back and forth once again between them, stood up, and flicking Blaise' legs with her tail she sat closer to Draco. "Told you." He laughed.

After a couple minutes of Draco and Blaise making fun of one another, Draco got to work. He kneeled beside Hermione and muttered the same incantations he said the night before. The only glowing anyone saw was the white around the spine area. Everything else had healed up nicely.

"All that's left is the bruising and soreness." Draco looked up at Blaise. "She's healed up nicely but I think we should keep her for another day before we search for an owner."

"Yeah, yeah. We have all day today and all day tomorrow." Blaise retorted. "I'm sure we'll all get on nicely."

**. . .**

**. . .**

The day went on and Hermione was always in the presence of either of her saviors. It wasn't that they didn't trust the wolf to be on her own; they just felt like being around her.

Draco was away buying them an early dinner while Blaise stayed back with Snuffles. He had managed to get her to jump on the sofa next to him and he sat there; curiously studying her. Seeing that Blaise wasn't going to do anything, Hermione stretched out on the sofa and started to drift into a light sleep.

The sound of people talking and the fact that someone was petting her was what finally woke Hermione up. She was laying on her side and her head was in the lap of someone. The talking and petting continued when Hermione chanced a look up at the person petting her. When her eyes landed on Draco, she quickly lifted her head and curled up on the cushion between him and Blaise. Both men chuckled and continued that chat.

"Come on, Snuffles. You haven't eaten today and there's a plate of steak in the kitchen for you." Blaise walked towards the kitchen; holding open the swinging door and waiting for her to limp through.

Hermione never liked steak but when she inhaled the scent of it, she couldn't help but limp faster and munch it down. Remembering that she was a lady, even in wolf form, she slowed down her eating and took her time taking in her surroundings. To her surprise, if she hadn't known she was in Draco and Blaise' home, she would've guessed she was in a muggle home. Everything she caught sight of was of muggle making. The refrigerator/freezer, the microwave, toaster, and coffee machine. The countertops were made of black marble and the appliances were all silver. The black mahogany table that Blaise was seated at was big enough for four people.

She didn't know how long she was looking, but she knew that she wasted quite an amount of time because Draco had waltzed into the kitchen freshly showered with only boxers on. The beaded water glistened in the kitchen light against his pale, toned chest and the piece of meat that Hermione was slowly chewing got caught in her throat.

The wolf started choking and Blaise immediately went to see what was wrong. Hermione pawed at her mouth, wishing that she had fingers so she could possibly try to dislodge the piece of meat. Taking a chance, Blaise quickly whipped out his wand, muttering an incantation that vanished the dangerous piece of meat and let the wolf breathe properly.

As Hermione was trying to catch her breath and slow down her heart beat, Draco suddenly appeared next to her with a bowl of water and placed it on the floor so she could drink. She was lapping up some water to quench her thirst when her eyes roamed over Draco's chest one last time.

She finished drinking her water and limped past both men, pushed the kitchen door open with her head, and made her way back to the sofa. She managed to jump back up on the sofa and stretch herself out. The last image that ran through Hermione's mind was that of a shirtless Draco Malfoy.

"_Why me, Merlin? Why me?"_

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When Hermione woke the next morning, she awoke again the sound of Draco and Blaise talking while someone was petting her. This time when she looked up to see who was petting her, she found that her head was laying in the lap of Zabini. He was twisting and turning the cuff that had her animal name engraved into it. As he examined the cuff and mumbled some stuff to Malfoy, Hermione was remembering how she came to have gotten the cuff.

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_Hermione and Harry had made a quick trip to The Burrow to tell everyone the good news. Hermione had finally passed her tests and she was now a legally registered animagus. Harry, who was already a registered animagus, needed someone who wasn't an Auror to be an undercover spy for him. Being that he chose his animagus form in memory of his Godfather, Sirius, everyone knew Harry was the great black dog that roamed around with an odd patch of white fur in the shape of a lightning bolt on the right side of his head._

_Mrs. Weasley made them stay a bit longer and whipped up a quick dinner for everybody. When Hermione told them of her animagus form, a plain wolf in memory in Remus, Ron joked with the idea of getting them dog collars in case they were ever trapped in their animagus form and needed to be identified by something. Everyone laughed except for George who sat on his side of the table thinking to himself._

_A couple weeks passed by and Hermione was sitting alone in her flat when her floo went off. Stumbling out from the emerald green flames was none other than George Weasley. Hermione and George both made small talk for a bit and right before he had to leave, he handed her a present. She was, of course, paranoid about what it might contain but George assured her that it was safe. _

_Opening up the present, Hermione was staring down at a plain silver bracelet that had a small nameplate with her animagus nickname engraved into it. _

_Snuffles. She had also decided to take the nickname that Sirius once used that no-one else knew of except for her, Harry, and Ron. _

_She laughed at the thoughtful gift and wrapped George up in a hug._

"_Thank you." She smiled._

"_It's not a problem." George assured her. "It was actually Ron's idea. Remember when he made a comment weeks back about getting you and Harry dog collars?" Hermione nodded. "Well, your bracelet is sort of like that. When you change into a wolf, the bracelet magically changes into a tiny cuff that will fit to your leg. Harry's got one too, only his is a necklace so it really does look like a collar when he's a dog."_

_Hermione giggled, hugging and thanking George one last time before sending him on his way._

**. . .**

**. . .**

"I remember!" Draco suddenly shouted; bringing Hermione out of her memory. "Remember last night how I kept telling you that the name _Snuffles _sounded familiar?"

"Yeah." Blaise answered; Hermione froze.

"Back in Hogwarts, when we were on the Inquisitorial Squad for Umbridge, I remember we were told to follow Potter's gang around and I remember him mentioning the name Snuffles!" At the mention of the name Potter, Hermione's head snapped up and stared at Draco. He eyed her curiously yet again. "Is that your owner, love? Harry Potter?" Hermione couldn't think of any other way to tell him yes except for wagging her tail.

Both Draco and Blaise smiled that they got a positive reaction and Draco walked over to their fireplace.

"What are you doing, mate?" Blaise asked.

"A while back, Potter gave me his address in case of an emergency." He explained. "I'm just going to pop in and ask if he's missing a pet."

Hermione was now sitting away from Blaise on the sofa and watched as Draco grabbed some floo powder and threw it into the fireplace causing the familiar emerald green flames to burst to life. "Number twelve, Grimmauld Place!"

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**. . .**

Ginny Potter was setting the breakfast table when a voice spoke from behind her; startling her. "Hey, Weaslette! Is Potter around anywhere?"

Ginny, who had spilled orange juice from being startled, vanished it from the table top and turned around to the fireplace. "Ferret, how many times do I have to remind you that I'm not a Weasley anymore?"

The small grin that was plastered to Ginny's face let Draco know that she wasn't in a bad mood. "Okay, okay. Mrs. Scarhead, is Mr. Scarhead available this morning? I have to ask him something."

"Very funny." Ginny dead-panned. She walked over to the kitchen door and opened it wide. "Harry! There's a ferret in the floo that wishes to speak with you. Hurry and get down here!" She shouted. Throwing a smile in Malfoy's direction, she went back to work at setting the table for breakfast.

Draco heard what sounded like a stampede racing down the stairs and then the kitchen door burst open. Two tiny figures ran past their mother and kneeled before the fireplace. "Hi, Mr. Draco. How's it going?" Both little boys spoke at the same time.

Draco smiled. "Hello there, James. Albus." He nodded to both boys. "All is fine on this side of the pond. I just have a quick question for your Dad."

"Oh. Alright." James picked himself off the floor and took a seat at the table. "He should be down here in a bit. We kind of ran from him and left him upstairs. I think the old age is finally catching up to him."

"James Sirius!" Ginny scolded her eldest son. "That wasn't very nice to say about your father."

Malfoy hid his laugh behind a quick cover-up cough and winked at the boy sitting at the table then faced the one who was still kneeling in front of him. "Go on and sit at the table with your brother, Albus. Get yourself a healthy breakfast."

Little Albus nodded and quickly joined his brother at the table.

Both boys were almost the same height even though there was a two year age difference between them. James Sirius was skinny and tall, with wavy dark brown hair that matched that of his fathers. The only Weasley trait he inherited was the freckles that settled across his cheekbones and nose. Albus Severus was slightly shorter than his brother and slightly heavier. His straight dark brown hair stuck up in every direction no matter what he did. Everything about the boy screamed _I'm Harry Potter's son!_. He was his exact duplicate at the age of 7.

Finally the door swung open again and in walked Harry Potter. The man that Draco had been waiting for.

"What can I do for you, Malfoy?" Harry asked as he took a seat at the table and served himself a glass of orange juice.

The glass had barely touched Harry's lips when Draco asked him. "Are you, by any chance, missing a pet wolf named Snuffles?" He quickly asked.

Harry choked on his juice; spitting it out and staring wide-eyed at Malfoy. "You found her? When did you find her? I've been looking for her since the other night!"

"Calm down." Draco chuckled. "She's safe here at my place. Blaise and I found her the other night in an alley. She was badly beaten but we healed her up nicely." He assured Harry.

Ginny threw Harry a worried glance before he quickly stood up and strode over to the fireplace. "Move over. I'm coming through."

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**. . .**

Draco came out of his floo call with Harry and quickly stood up, getting out of the way before Harry came through. Not even a second later and Harry was standing in the living room with Draco, Blaise, and Snuffles. When Harry's eyes landed on the wolf, he quickly strode over to the sofa and petted her head.

"You're okay!" He breathed a sigh a relief. "I've been worried sick since you've gone missing."

Draco watched as Harry spoke to the wolf as if she were a human. "Oh great." Blaise groaned. "You just had to find her owner. I kind grew attached to her already."

Harry and Draco both chuckled.

"Sorry, mate." Harry grinned. He sat on the sofa and the wolf leaned her head on his shoulder. "How come I couldn't find her?" Harry finally asked. "Her cuff has a tracking device in it and when we noticed she went missing; her device stopped working."

"Oh. That would be our fault." Blaise spoke up. "Our house has anti-tracking spells on it and some other stuff. We don't like to be found by angry people."

"Oh. Okay." Harry drawled. "Well, I better get going. Ginny has also been worried that we might have lost Snuffles for good. Thank you both very much for finding her." He stood up, scooped Snuffles up into his arms as best as he could and walked back over to the fireplace.

"Just so you know," Draco stopped Harry before he could leave. "When we found her, she had a couple of broken ribs and gashes all around her body. We fixed all that up but now she's just really bruised and sore. Make sure she gets enough bed rest and don't work her too hard."

Harry sighed out loud and looked down at Snuffles. "Don't worry. She won't be working hard for a while now. I'll make sure of it."

The wolf whimpered in his arms and a second later, Harry and Snuffles vanished in the emerald green flames.

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><p><strong>Any compliments or questions: leave them in a review! :)<strong>


	3. Chapter 3

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Thanks to: Gaara's Plaything, Just Your Above Average Malfoy, Sensula, NazChick, FivePhoenix, E.C Silence, Virgooster, and the anon reviewers :) Once again, I'm glad you've taken a liking to this short fic of mine.**

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><p>"You're kidding me!" Ginny shrieked with laughter as Hermione told her and Harry of her time at Draco and Blaise'. "I can't believe he peeked at your bits even if you were in wolf form."<p>

The kitchen was filled with loud laughter from Harry and Ginny that they had to cast a silencing charm so the sleeping children wouldn't hear.

"It was horrible." Hermione groaned; her face hiding in the palms of her hands. "There I was, trusting Blaise more than Draco at the time, and then Draco lets it out that he peeked at my _lady wolf bits._ I immediately changed direction and sat next to Draco."

Tears were streaming down Ginny's cheeks from laughing so much and Harry was red as a beet. After the laughter slowly died down, Harry turned serious.

"So what exactly happened?" He pointed his question at Hermione. "Did you see who attacked you?"

Hermione wiped away the tears falling down her cheeks and willed away her giggles. "For the last time, Harry, no! I didn't see who it was. I was just doing the usual patrol that you asked me to do and someone attacked me from a dark corner. They hit me with some spell that cut me up and then when I tried to get away, he kicked me all over."

"You're sure it was a man?" Harry asked as he made notes on a piece of parchment that lay on the table.

"Definitely. He kept muttering something about _getting revenge for a friend._ Or something along those lines."

"Okay. Well it's settled now. No more Auror duty for you. Your animagus cover seems to have gotten blown." Harry sighed. "You'll just have to work back in your bookstore for the time being."

"If that's what you think is best." Hermione agreed.

The kitchen was quiet for a good five minutes before Ginny broke it. "So during your stay with Zabini and Malfoy, did you see anything drool worthy?"

"And that's my signal to leave!" Harry quickly stood from the kitchen table and fast-walked out the door, setting off another round of laughter from Ginny and Hermione.

**.**

**.**

**.**

**.**

**.**

A couple days passed and Hermione went back to her normal work schedule of working for her bookstore. Hermione has always had a love for books that she ended up carrying into her adulthood. After years of school and business school, she opened up her own bookstore that quickly became popular around the Wizardry community.

She wasn't much of an thrill seeker after the Final Battle at Hogwarts, but when Harry became an Auror and asked her for help; she didn't deny him. He told her of his animagus cover being blown and he needed another animagus that could patrol for him. Ron was too busy helping run the joke shop with George so Hermione was his last resort. She was a fast thinker and good at defensive spells in case she ever got in trouble, so she studied fast and hard, passing her animagus test within a couple of weeks. Now that her very own cover was blown, she had to go back to her bookstore.

**. . .**

**. . .**

The sun had quickly vanished and Hogsmeade Village was thrown, yet again, into a frosty darkness. Hermione had just closed up shop and decided that a nice butterbeer from the Three Broomsticks was just what she needed.

Making sure that everything was locked up and secure, she wrapped her old Gryfindor scarf more secure around her neck and went on her way. She walked past all the other shops that surrounded hers and remembered all the fond memories from when she was a student and their monthly visits they got to the village.

All too quickly, which Hermione didn't mind at all, she found herself in front of the Three Broomsticks establishment and entered. Many witches and wizards were in there as well; all enjoying a late hot meal or some drinks with friends before heading home. Hermione was scanning for an empty table to sit at when her eyes landed on, none other than, Draco and Blaise. Her breath got caught in her throat but then she remembered that they didn't know she was Snuffles. She saw that they were getting ready to pay their tab when an idea struck her.

**. . .**

**. . .**

"How about we split it tonight?" Draco yawned. "It's been a long day and I don't want to argue about whose turn it is to pay."

"Sounds good to me."

Both men were rummaging through their pockets for money when a slender feminine arm reached between them and placed money on the bar top. "Don't worry, Rosmerta. I got it for them."

Rosmerta, the bar maiden who was waiting for the men to pay their tab, smiled and winked at Hermione as she gathered up the money and walked away.

"Er. Thanks, Granger." Draco smirked. "Mind telling us why you paid our tab, though?"

"Well," Hermione fidgeted under the stares of both men. "H-Harry told me about you rescuing a member of his f-family. I saw you both here and thought I'd buy you a drink, but it looks like you're leaving. So.."

"And how is our lovely Snuffles?" Draco scooted one stool over so Hermione could sit between him and Blaise. "Have a seat and we'll order one last round of drinks. What will you have?"

"She's doing good." Hermione answered as she sat down. "And I'll have a butterbeer, please."

Draco got Rosmerta's attention again and placed their drink order while Hermione got comfortable. She unwrapped her scarf, placing it in her lap and removed her coat; also placing it in her lap. Hermione adjusted herself on her stool and smiled at Rosmerta as she placed three butterbeers in front of them.

"So Harry told you of our rescue mission, eh?" Blaise took a drink of his butterbeer.

Hermione hesitated before answering. "Uh, yeah. He did. He seemed really worried that she went missing but now everything is as it should be all thanks to you two."

"Stop. You're making us blush." Draco answered sarcastically. "And by the way, I meant to ask Potter but he left in a hurry. Is Snuffles a regular wolf or does she have some magic running through her blood?"

Hermione choked a bit on her drink but quickly recovered. "She's, uh, normal." She answered. "As far as I know, she's a regular wolf."

"Interesting." Blaise muttered. "Very interesting."

"Why do you ask?"

"Well when she was with us, she showed some intelligence." Draco said without looking at Hermione. "We would talk to her and it's as if she knew exactly what we were saying."

Hermione nodded her understanding but didn't question them further. She was kind of scared of what they would think if they knew it was her they fixed up. She wasn't scared that they would be mad, no, she was scared that they'd embarrass her about it. Hold it over her head for the rest of her life.

The three of them grew quiet and the butterbeer started to finally catch up with her. Without thinking too much about it, Hermione pushed up the long sleeves to her shirt and rested her elbows on the bar top; placing her chin in her hands. Her eyes roamed over the various alcohol bottles behind the bar and she zoned out in her own world.

**. . .**

**. . .**

Draco and Blaise made small talk with Hermione for a bit, just enough chit-chat so they could finish their drinks. In the middle of their chat, however, Hermione rest her arms on the bar top and laughed at something Blaise was telling her. Draco took this time to look-over the woman he used to taunt during their time at Hogwarts.

He had never told anyone, only Blaise, but he had always harbored a tiny crush on her ever since the Yule Ball. His eyes were roaming over her arms when they suddenly stopped on her right wrist. Sitting there clasped around her wrist was a plain silver bracelet that had a name plate with something engraved into it. Curiosity getting the better of him, he leaned forward a bit to read what it said.

_Snuffles._

"_Snuffles?" _Draco's eyes widened as he thought to himself. _"It can't be, could it?"_

Blaise' loud laughter made Draco look over at him and a sinister smirk took over his handsome features. Blaise saw the smirk and questioned Draco with his eyes. He quickly shook his head and ordered one last round of butterbeers before they all went their separate ways. Hermione excused herself from her company and made a quick trip to the loo.

"What's with the smirk, mate? What happened?"

Draco's smirk got more pronounced. "This is too much of a coincidence. When Hermione comes back, examine the bracelet on her wrist without her knowing what you're doing."

Blaise had tried his best to get Draco to explain further, but Hermione had returned. Once again, their drinks were placed before them and they gulped them down in silence. When Hermione had slightly turned to the side to talk with Draco, Blaise took his chance to look at the bracelet like Draco had said. He too had to lean a bit to see what the big deal was about but when he saw it, the same smirk that appeared on Draco appeared on Blaise himself.

Blaise caught Draco's eye and chuckled.

"Well," Hermione said as she finished off her second butterbeer. "I came in for one drink but got two. It was nice catching up with you two but I need to get going." She stood up and started to put her coat and scarf back on. Draco and Blaise both stayed seated on their stools and kept smiling at Hermione. "Before I go, I just want to thank both of you again one last time. That wolf meant a lot to Harry and Ginny and you saved her. So, thank you."

"No problem." They mumbled at the same time.

"Well. Bye." Hermione turned to walk away but she only got a couple of steps in the opposite direction when Draco and Blaise both shouted at her.

"See you around, _Snuffles._" Hermione didn't have to turn around to know that they both were sporting amused grins on their faces.

* * *

><p><strong>I'm sorry that was so short. Please leave your complaints or compliments in a review.<strong>


	4. Chapter 4

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: The time and friendship will progress very quickly in this chapter. I'm so sorry for those of you who wanted this to be a long chapter fic. After this chapter is the Epilogue and I will end it there; no sequel. I hope you enjoy this even though it's very rushed.**

**Thanks to: NazChick, Hunter's Heir, IheartDracoandRon, Supermegafoxyawsomehot, virgooster, kk1999, Tamcor, scaryneko, Just Your Above Average Malfoy, Insanegirl190, Kim, Gaara's Plaything, and Iceprincess22454. Thanks for leaving your reviews and telling me your thoughts.**

* * *

><p>It's been three weeks.<p>

weeks since Hermione had successfully managed to avoid running into Draco or Blaise. Harry passed on many messages to her for her to meet up with both men in Diagon Alley, but she never took them up on their offer. She figured that they just wanted to poke fun at her for being in their care and having to be petted like a common house pet.

**. . .**

**. . .**

The sun was shining brightly all over the village, but that didn't keep the wind from having a chilly bite to it. Hermione was still on her mission to avoid any places that she might run into Draco and Blaise. Instead of grabbing her usual drink at the Three Broomsticks, she headed into Madam Puddifoot's.

Since she first started buying her tea at Madam Puddifoot's, she was welcomed with open arms from the owner.

"Will it be the usual, dear?" Madam Puddifoot had quickly made her way to Hermione's table since she wasn't busy.

"Yes, please." Hermione smiled warmly up at her.

Hermione settled down at her table and waited patiently for her cup of tea and plate of biscuits.

As time slowly passed, people walked in and out of the establishment. She sat comfortably sipping on her second cup of tea when a familiar looking head of hair caught her attention. The sun glimmered off the wavy blonde hair through the front window and when Hermione noticed he was making his way inside her current location, she turned her back to him and prayed he didn't notice her.

She watched over her shoulder as he paid no attention to the people surrounding him and made his way up to the front counter. Hermione sunk lower in her chair but she made sure to keep her ears open to hear what he would say.

"Ah, Mr. Malfoy." Madam Puddifoot greeted him. "Always on time, I see. Your mother's monthly order is just in the back. I'll go and fetch it now."

"Thank you." Hermione heard Draco say.

Hermione managed to sink even lower in her chair and kept her eyes glued to the table. Minutes passed and she never heard the bell above the door jingle again. Chancing a glance over her shoulder, Hermione's eyes swept over the tiny room but there was no sign of Draco. Thinking that her eyes and ears possibly played a trick on her, Hermione rose in her seat and turned to finish off her drink.

"Still in hiding, Hermione?" Draco smirked at her from across her table. "Why must you play hide-and-seek?" Hermione squeaked and accidentally sent her plate of left over biscuits to the floor. "Tsk, tsk. Here, let me clean that up." With a wave of his wand, the broken plate repaired itself and the biscuits disappeared.

"M-Malfoy." Hermione breathed. "What are you doing here?"

"Oh, nothing really." Draco pocketed his wand. "Just picking up my mother's monthly shipment of tea."

"No. I mean here at my table."

"Oh. That." Draco smirked yet again. "I've been wanting to speak with you, but you seem to be dodging me. Tell me, Hermione, why are you hiding?"

She opened her mouth to answer him, but then quickly snapped it shut. Did she really want to tell him she was hiding because she was embarrassed?

Malfoy's smirk was still in place when she made up her mind.

She was going to tell him.

"Well the thing is," Hermione spoke. "You and Blaise were not supposed to find out I was an animagus. Especially a certain wolf animagus that you two took care of and petted like a common house pet at times." Draco opened his mouth to speak, but Hermione kept on speaking. "I'm not ashamed of being a wolf, it's not that. It's just embarrassing when I think that Blaise got a peek at certain lady bits, I saw you walking around half naked, and I always woke up with my head in someone's lap." By the time she finished speaking, her cheeks were tinted red.

"May I speak now?" Draco asked; Hermione nodded. "If you would've just met up with me in Diagon Alley, you would've found out that we were never going to bring that up. Sure we were curious as to how you ended up badly injured, but we were never going to make fun of you about it."

"Y-you weren't?"

"No." Draco assured her. "The reason I wanted to meet was to ask you about being an animagus." Hermione sat there not knowing what to think about. "You see, I've always wanted to be an animagus but I never knew anyone who was one. Do you mind sharing your knowledge with me, Ms. Granger?"

**. . .**

**. . .**

Later that night, Hermione was laying in bed thinking over her conversation with Draco. To her surprise, he didn't bring up the time that she stayed with them but he asked her all sorts of questions on how long it takes to become an animagus. She told him all that she knew; that there was a lot of studying and concentration needed. And, of course, he had to really think about what type of animal he wanted to become because it was a one-shot type of deal. Once you choose your animal, that's it. No changing into something different afterward.

Hermione was also shocked that he invited her back to his house so she could help him out with all the studying. Since there hadn't been bad blood between them for years and the fact that he got along with Harry, she agreed to show up at his house the following afternoon.

The following afternoon came far too quickly for Hermione's liking. She found herself standing in her bedroom, staring into her closet and trying to figure out something to wear. She didn't want to wear something too formal, but she also didn't want to wear anything that showed she was too comfortable in their presence. Opting for a pair of black fitted jeans and an ice blue band tee with the name 'Weird Sisters' on it, she slipped on a pair of Converse shoes and apparated to the front door of Draco and Blaise' home.

Before she could even raise her fist to knock on the door, it swung right open. "I knew I heard the familiar _crack! _of someone apparating." Blaise smiled at Hermione. "I kind of figured it was outside when no-one popped up inside."

"Hello, Blaise." Hermione returned his smile. "Is Dra-"

"He's upstairs." He cut her off. "Been waiting all morning for your arrival." Hermione didn't miss the smug smirk plastered on Blaise' face but she chose to ignore it all together. "Come on in."

Hermione entered their home and it looked exactly how she remembered it. The living room consisted of earthly colors; beige, dark browns, and blacks. The black leather couch that she was always waking up on was still in the middle of the living room with the dark mahogany coffee table in front of it. The fire place was off center, a little to the left of the coffee table and a built-in bookcase to the right. The only thing that was missing were the cushions that were in the corner of the room.

"Go ahead and take a seat. I'm sure you're already quite comfortable here anyway." Blaise smirked as he walked to the kitchen door. "Can I get you a drink while you wait for Draco?"

Hermione playfully scowled at Blaise. "No. I'm fine."

"Suit yourself." He disappeared behind the swinging door.

Hermione only needed to wait for a couple of minutes before Draco bounded down the stairs; a smile adorning his facial features.

"Did you bring all the books and paperwork I might need to fill out?"

Hermione, shocked that she forgot about some of the paperwork, shook her head. "You really don't need paperwork unless you plan on doing your transformation at home with an official. The papers that you do need to fill out will be completed at the Ministry after you've chosen your animal figure. Sorry, I forgot to point that out before."

Draco waved it off. "No worries. Although, I do intend to do the transformation here at home but we can do the paperwork some other day. Shall we start with the studying and any key points you want to give me?"

And with that, the two worked in a comfortable silence with no interruptions on Blaise' part.

**.**

**.**

**.**

**.**

**.**

One week later and Hermione still found herself apparating back and forth from her flat to Draco's. It only took one week for Hermione to ditch the jeans and show up pajama pants or shorts when she was lazy. Of course, the change in clothes went unnoticed by both men but Blaise was the only brave one to voice his thoughts.

"Planning on sleeping over tonight?" Blaise mused one day. "I've got plenty of room in my bed if you need a place to crash."

Hermione, who was stretched out on the sofa, was chuckling at Blaise' playful banter that she completely missed the death glare that Draco was giving his friend. "I don't know, Blaise. You seem like the type who would try to round all the bases if I were to stay in your bed. On the other hand, Draco wouldn't touch me with a ten foot pole. If, and that's a big if, if I were staying in either of your bed; it'd be Draco's. Sorry."

"Round.. all the.. bases?" Hermione had managed to confuse Blaise. "Huh?"

"It's a, uh, muggle saying. I think." Draco answered from his comfortable spot on the carpeted floor beneath Hermione who was flipping through one of the books that he was supposed to be studying. After letting what Hermione said sink in for a couple of more seconds, he quickly leaned up; propped up on his elbows. "Wait a minute, Granger. You really think that if, and that's a big if, if you were in my bed that I wouldn't touch you?" Blaise covered up his laugh with a cough and waited for Hermione to answer, but instead of answering she nodded her head. "Blimey, Hermione. I thought you were the brightest witch since Rowena Ravenclaw? You're a beautiful witch! Any bloke who passes up the chance to round any bases, as you so kindly put it earlier, is out of their damn mind."

Hermione's cheeks quickly tinted a bright red and Blaise couldn't hide his laughter any longer. Draco smirked at Blaise, winked at Hermione, and went back to his earlier position of laying on the floor; his nose in the book.

Hermione's eyes glanced back and forth between Blaise and Draco and when neither man gave any further explanation, she went back to reading the book that lay forgotten in her lap.

_He couldn't like her.. could he?_

_**.**_

_**.**_

_**.**_

_**.**_

_**.**_

Six weeks.

Six weeks have now gone by and Draco was only a couple of hours away to becoming an animagus. Having Hermione as a tutor paid off big time and he finished all his studying and tests in record time. He even got Harry to pull a couple of strings for him that allowed Hermione to be the one to administer the potion to him that he had to drink before he transformed.

Draco was walking around his kitchen, clad in nothing but black cotton pajama bottoms when Blaise walked in. "Getting ready for your lunch date with Hermione?" He grinned. Having been around every time Hermione was at their home, he never missed the flirty comments that seemed to be normal between the two now.

"Shutup, Blaise." Draco retorted without even glancing up at him, a grin also on his face. "Today's the big day. Let me be happy."

"The big day, huh? You finally going to own up that your school boy crush on Hermione came back?"

Draco, who's back was facing Blaise, froze for an instant and the answer Blaise received was all the proof he needed.

"_Sod off."_

_**. . .**_

_**. . .**_

It was mid-afternoon and Draco was nervously finishing the last minute paperwork as Hermione watched him from across the table. He had managed to get Blaise to leave the house for the remainder of the day because he knew that he'd be a distraction.

"You're still not going to tell me what animal you're becoming?" Hermione asked as she tried to peek at the paperwork he was finishing up.

He quickly turned the papers over before Hermione could see what he scribbled down as his animal form. "Nope. You'll just have to wait and see for when I actually transform."

Hermione and Draco exchanged smiles before she pushed herself up from the table. "Okay, Mr. Malfoy. Shall we get this over with?" She walked backwards out of the kitchen, waving the vial of purple liquid; beckoning him to follow her.

Draco stood up, slowly following Hermione into his living room. On the outside, he put on a bright smile but on the inside, he was somewhat sad. Today would be the last day that Hermione would make a daily visit to his home. Well, he was hoping it wouldn't be the last time once she saw his animal form.

Coming to a stop in front of Hermione, she uncorked the vial and held out her hand. His fingers slightly brushed hers as he took the vial from her and put it up to his lips. "Cheers!" In one big gulp, he downed the potion and handed her back the empty vial.

Closing his eyes and concentrating on the animal he wished to become, he felt his inside warming up and it was as if he suddenly went numb. His mind fogged over and even thought he was numb, he felt shorter than what he started off as. Hearing a small _thump! _which he guessed was the vial slipping from Hermione's hand, he grinned to himself.

Point to Draco.

He slowly opened up his eyes and was faced with a kneeling Hermione in front of him; hand clasped over her mouth and eyes wide as saucers.

Standing before Hermione, on all fours, was a pure white wolf with molten silver eyes. She reached up with her free hand and ruffled his fur below his right ear.

"You're beautiful." She whispered as she felt him lean further into her touch. "Really beautiful."

Draco wagged his tail a few time before taking a couple of steps back and giving Hermione a very wolfish grin.

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><p><strong>Epilogue is next. Leave your complaints or compliments in a review :)<strong>


	5. Epilogue

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Well.. this is the ending. For those of you who enjoyed reading this and left positive reviews, thank you! For those who left any hate, well I'm sorry this wasn't to your liking. **

* * *

><p>Three months have passed since Draco had been registered as a legal animagus. And it's been three months since Hermione figured out that Draco harbored a crush on her that led her to take a chance on him.<p>

The two couldn't have been happier.

Ever since taking the next step from a casual friendship into a romantic relationship, the only thing that changed was the fact that they stayed at each other's flats now. Draco had his own drawer in Hermione's bedroom and Hermione had the same at Draco's.

Draco was currently at Hermione's flat taking a shower and getting ready for a small get together that Ginny had planned. And Hermione was sitting at her vanity mirror, staring at all the moving portraits that clung to the sides of the mirror. She couldn't keep the smile off her face as she thought about how lucky she was to have such amazing friends and _now_ such an amazing boyfriend.

**. . .**

**. . .**

Since Blaise had forgotten something at his and Draco's flat and gone back to retrieve it, he was the first to figure out that something was going on. One look at Hermione kneeling in front of a pure white wolf and it all clicked in place. _"It's about bloody time." _He had muttered before running up to his room and getting whatever he needed.

Harry and Ginny were next in line to find out. Having gone back to Harry's place after leaving Draco's, Harry had asked how everything went. Sensing that Hermione was somewhat jumpy every time Draco's name was mentioned, Ginny called her out on it. _"What happened with Malfoy? Why, all of a sudden, do you seem jittery?"_

And that was all it took for Hermione to crack and spill everything. She told them of Draco's choice of animagus form and even spilled the beans on what she thought was harmless flirting. Ginny giggled when Hermione mentioned their flirting, but Harry seemed to have masked all his emotions. When Ginny urged Hermione to continue, she also told them of Draco coming clean and telling her of his crush he'd had on her since their sixth year.

And that's when Harry smiled. _"I always knew something was different about Malfoy when he kept staring at you during Slughorn's class!"_

Ginny broke off in another round of giggles and Hermione breathed a sigh of relief. She knew Harry accepted of her new found relationship with Draco when he pulled her into a brotherly hug and whispered in her ear. _"If he ever hurts you, just say the word. I'll hex his arse so bad, he'll wish the Dark Lord was back to protect him."_

The last to find out about Hermione's relationship was George and Ron. Having been her ex-boyfriend and the one who took the longest to believe Draco was a changed man, Hermione was scared to tell him. Her reasons for keeping it from George was that since he no longer had his twin, Fred, he confided a lot more in Ron now. Telling George was just as good as telling Ron.

Of course, all secrets must come out. And when this secret of Hermione's came out, Ron wasn't too happy about it.

Harry, Ginny, George, and Ron had invited themselves over to Hermione's flat and they were just sitting around chatting. Hermione knew she had to tell George and Ron soon but she just couldn't find the courage to do it.

Apparently the sorting hat had placed her in the wrong house.

And so there they were all sitting around the living room when everyone heard the familiar sound of a _crack! _and Hermione froze. Harry threw Hermione a worried glance and Ginny sat there as if the most amusing thing had just happened.

"_Hey, 'Mione. Were you expecting anyone else?" _Ron had asked as he glanced back and forth between his friend and her kitchen door to where the sound came from.

Hermione didn't speak but she didn't have to because Draco chose that exact moment to burst through into the living room. _"Babe! Where are you-" _And that was as far as Draco got before hexes started flying in his direction.

It only took a couple of seconds and before anyone knew it, one clenched fist connected with Draco's jaw. After that, it was a screaming match that resulted with Hermione kicking Ron out and George following soon after. George was the only one who hadn't said anything but he still chose to leave after his brother.

Finally after a month of ignoring each other and throwing around hurtful words, Ron came around. His only problem now was that it was tough to stop calling Draco a _'stupid git', _but that was fine with Draco because he couldn't seem to stop calling Ron a _'red-headed weasel'._ As for George, well he was now able to sit in the same room and be himself but he still found himself not being able to think of anything to talk about with Draco. This didn't go unnoticed by anyone, but they figured there was nothing they could do. If George wanted to take his time with accepting Draco, well then they'd let him take his time.

**. . . **

**. . .**

"Draco! Will you hurry up, please? We're supposed to be at Harry and Gin's in a few minutes." Hermione shouted at the bathroom door.

Before she could even blink, the door swung open and Draco walked out, rolling up the sleeves to his black button down dress shirt. "Okay, okay. Don't get your knickers in a twist."

"My knickers are not in-" and before she could even finish her statement, Draco swooped in and placed a chaste kiss to her lips.

"I was only joking, love." He wrapped his hand around Hermione's wrist and apparated them out of her bedroom to the front doorstep of Harry's.

When she finally felt solid ground beneath her feet, Hermione started to smack Draco on his shoulder. "You know I hate side-along apparition. You could have at least warned me first."

Draco, who was laughing as Hermione hit him, never got to defend himself because Ginny had opened the door. "Stop abusing the bloke and get your bum inside, will ya?"

Taking the opportunity when Hermione got distracted, he quickly stepped around Ginny and patted her on the back. "Thanks, Potter." And he hurried to the living area where Harry was mostly likely at.

When Draco was out of ear shot, Ginny pulled Hermione in. "Looks like the ferret trains well."

Both women snickered as they slowly walked back to the living area where both their men were waiting for them. Upon arriving, Ginny noticed that the last three had also showed up. George, Ron, and Blaise.

"Well now that the whole gang is here, let's pass out the drinks." Ginny beamed.

**. . .**

**. . .**

Being that Molly had decided to take care of the children for Harry and Ginny, George passed around butterbeers for the ladies and Firewhiskey for the men. Everyone fell into a comfortable chat and laughter rang out from everyone in the room.

After a couple of hours of laughing and poking fun at one another, everyone seemed to have separated into different groups. Hermione and Ginny talked amongst themselves. Ron, Harry, and Blaise sat nearer each other and got talking about the best Quidditch team, in their opinion. And then that left George and Draco to themselves.

After a couple minutes of awkwardness between the two, George stood up and walked over to the coat rack and rummaged through his pockets. The only one to notice that George wasn't sitting down anymore was Draco himself. Eying George warily, Draco watched as he pulled out a small square box and walk back to his seat. Fidgeting with the box, George quickly dumped it in Draco's lap and went back to nursing his Firewhiskey.

"Um. Is this for me?" Draco turned the small box in his hands.

George downed another shot of Firewhiskey and turned his gaze to Draco. "I dropped it in your lap, didn't I?" Being as those were the first words that George ever muttered in Draco's direction, everyone stopped talking and looked at him. "Open it."

Draco had just ran his finger beneath the paper when everyone suddenly turned their eyes on him and all shouted at once. _"NO!"_

"Are you crazy? You never open a gift from a Weasley!" Hermione started. "No offense." She then turned her gaze upon Ginny.

"I'm a Potter now. No worries." She grinned.

"Blimey, Draco." Blaise spoke up. "I don't even know George that well, but even I know better than to open a gift that came from him." Harry nodded his agreement and Ron just laughed.

"Oh, will you give it a rest." George defended himself with a small smile adorning his lips. "It's my peace offering. I'm not trying to off the bloke." When everyone glanced curiously at him, George explained himself as he faced Draco. "It wasn't fair of me to hold a grudge against you. After the war, anything or anyone who sided with the Dark Lord was scum to me. I know you've changed though," He added when Draco opened his mouth to respond. "When your and 'Mione's relationship came into light, I didn't know what to think so that's why I just left that one day. I've been thinking about it after all these months and I just realized that I need to let go of the past. It's time to move on, you know?" As George looked around the room at the people around him, he saw that everyone was wearing a small grin. "This gift is just a token of starting fresh, I guess." He stopped talking and drank some more of his drink.

Hermione stood and walked over to George, giving him a great big hug. "Thank you."

Draco nodded his understanding and continued on with opening his gift. When Draco lifted all the paper off and was faced with a velvet box that one would usually find jewelry in. "Aw, you shouldn't have." Draco cooed.

"Don't be a prat and open, will ya?" Hermione scolded him.

The whole gang sniggered and watched as Draco open the lid to the box. Inside was a silver chain necklace that was similar to Harry's, but on his nameplate he found his own nickname engraved into it.

_Silver._

"Hey! Would you look at that." Ron leaned forward as he got a better look at the necklace. "George layed his claim on you like he did with Harry and Hermione."

Draco scowled at Ron and Blaise laughed. "Well if I can get a cool necklace like that, I'd gladly become a wolf."

"Thanks, man." Draco stared George in the eyes as he put the necklace on. "It's really cool."

Harry walked over behind Draco and clamped a hand on his shoulder.

"_Welcome to the wolf pack."_

* * *

><p><strong>Sorry that ending was so lame = Leave your last compliments or complaints in a review.**

**This is the end of one short fic, but don't worry.. I have another short fic in the works :)**

**I'll see you all soon.**


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